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Epidemiological assessment and Motif Fingerprint-based Genomic Characterization of Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) infection and co-infections in Colombia
  • +13
  • Paola Barato ,
  • Montufar Miguel,
  • Carroza Daniela,
  • Fernando Mardones,
  • Surachetpong Win,
  • Willy Valdivia,
  • Ariza Sandra,
  • Piñeros Ricardo,
  • Palomares Jairo,
  • Bacca Nataly,
  • Zuñiga Julian,
  • Castillo Eduardo,
  • Hernandez Jaime,
  • Deepak Sheoran,
  • Molina-Luque Rafael,
  • Iregui Carlos
Paola Barato
Corporación Patología Veterinaria CORPAVET® Calle 25A # 38A-16 Bogotá Colombia

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Montufar Miguel
Corporación Patología Veterinaria CORPAVET® Calle 25A # 38A-16 Bogotá Colombia
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Carroza Daniela
Corporación Patología Veterinaria CORPAVET® Calle 25A # 38A-16 Bogotá Colombia
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Fernando Mardones
Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Facultad de Medicina Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
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Surachetpong Win
Kasetsart University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
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Willy Valdivia
Orion Integrated Bioscience Inc 2005 Research Park Circle Manhattan Kansas 66502 US
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Ariza Sandra
Universidad Internacional de Valencia
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Piñeros Ricardo
Corporación Patología Veterinaria CORPAVET® Calle 25A # 38A-16 Bogotá Colombia
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Palomares Jairo
MolecularVet SAS® Calle 25A # 38A-12 Bogotá and Neiva Colombia
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Bacca Nataly
Corporación Universitaria del Huila Calle 21 No 6 – 01 CORHUILA Neiva Huila Colombia
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Zuñiga Julian
Corporación Universitaria del Huila Calle 21 No 6 – 01 CORHUILA Neiva Huila Colombia
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Castillo Eduardo
Corporación Universitaria del Huila Calle 21 No 6 – 01 CORHUILA Neiva Huila Colombia
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Hernandez Jaime
Universidad de Cordoba
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Deepak Sheoran
Orion Integrated Bioscience Inc 2005 Research Park Circle Manhattan Kansas 66502 US
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Molina-Luque Rafael
Universidad de Cordoba Facultad de Medicina y Enfermeria
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Iregui Carlos
Corporación Patología Veterinaria CORPAVET® Calle 25A # 38A-16 Bogotá Colombia
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Abstract

Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) infection is one of the most challenging diseases of farmed tilapia ( Oreochromis sp.) production systems globally, however, few studies have described the epidemiology of TiLV. Here, we assessed the TiLV infection’s status in Colombia Departments by RT-PCR amplification of a pool of tissues (liver, spleen, eye, and brain) collected from units of five to ten tilapias per lot/pond. From June 2016 to March 2018, epidemiological assessments of TiLV infection found positive cases of TiLV from 109 out of 463 submitted samples (23%) representing 25 TiLV positive farms, 21 districts, and 13 departments. Spatial distribution of cases indicate that the disease is widespread in Colombia including 21 TiLV positive municipalities out of 29 sampled (72,4%). Segment 6 of Colombian TiLV showed 98 to 100% of sequence identity to the viruses previously reported from Ecuador, Israel, and Peru. Almost all cases of TiLV (103/109; 94.5%) were associated to mortalities and clinical signs attributed to the disease and were reported at any life stages of tilapia. Six additional cases (5,5%) were reported from apparently healthy alevins at three Epidemiological Units (EU). Among the 109 cases, 44 cases (40.4%) had concomitant TiLV infection with other bacterial and/or parasitic diseases, highlighting the complex interactions between the virus and other pathogens. Grouping tests such as histopathology and molecular techniques, may be able to improve the detection of moribund and apparently healthy TiLV cases. This study, TiLV was reported throughout Colombia as the first comprehensive epidemiological investigation of TiLV status in South America.